


Necessary Conversations

by SkinnyBoi0321



Series: The Conversations Series [1]
Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: Additional Characters Mentioned, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Is that the right term to use?, LGBTQ Character, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sad, Set after S1, figuring life out, sexual awakening
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:40:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27205355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkinnyBoi0321/pseuds/SkinnyBoi0321
Summary: After the events of the season one finale, Nini ultimately decides not to go to the performing arts school in Denver [this spring semester]. However, she still has her hands full at home: due to unfortunate circumstances, Momma Salazar-Roberts's nephew from California has to move in and attend East High with Nini and company. With this new presence in town, some interesting developments and eventually necessary conversations are bound to happen.*The story starts off about a week after the OMC moves to Utah, so he will have already been somewhat adjusted to the school and Nini's social circle.**This is an AU, not compliant with the news we've been getting about Season Two including the additions of Roman Banks and Olivia Rose Keegan among other updates I'm not recollecting at the moment.
Relationships: Nini Salazar-Roberts & Original Male Character(s), Ricky Bowen (HSMTMTS)/Original Male Character(s), Ricky Bowen/Nini Salazar-Roberts
Series: The Conversations Series [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2066265
Comments: 6
Kudos: 7





	1. Ricky and Nathan

Ricky peaks his head through the entrance to the Bomb Shelter, noticing a lone figure in the middle of a pirouette, “Uh, Nathan?” 

Nathan jolts in surprise at the sudden movement out of the corner of his eye coming towards him, so he takes his earphones from his ears and focuses his attention: “Oh, hey, Ricky.”

“What are you doing here? Nini isn’t on campus.”

“I know. She said that she’d be back from the café soon. I asked her if I could just hang out here a bit longer and get a feel for the place. I still can’t believe I transferred to the legendary East High.” While looking around the room in wonder, Nathan proceeds to sit in the nearest chair.

Ricky walks towards him, drops his backpack on the floor, and sits down in the chair next to Nathan as he says, “Eh, it’s not that big of a deal. The school is nice and has some tourists come along sometimes, but otherwise just your average high school.”

“It is nice. And the people have been nice too; especially you and the rest of Nini’s friends.”

“Hey, you’re Nini’s family and just moved here, so you deserve to have a good group and it might as well be us.”

“Very true.”

“So, has adjusting to Utah been good for you so far?”

“In what way? School-wise? Weather-wise? House-wise?”

Ricky tries to hold a chuckle but fails, “Any way you wanna start, I guess.”

“Well, the weather is definitely colder than California at this time of year; I haven’t had to break out the jeans in a while. But I have to be honest, it’s surprisingly warmer than what I’ve been hearing about Utah.”

“Oh, yeah. You came at a good time. When it comes to late February here, we start getting out of the cold months and it warms up. Not very quickly, but it does warm up, I promise; you’ll just have to get used to being here in order to actually feel the difference, I guess.”

“Good to know,” Nathan responds alongside a single, drawn-out head nod.

“Okay, what else?”

“You know, there is no obligation for you to be nice to me just because you and my cousin are in a relationship. I don’t mean to be rude, Ricky, but you don’t need to be nice to me if you don’t want to hang out with me or if it inconveniences you.”

Ricky closes his eyes and makes a ‘pshh’ sound come out of his mouth before trying to explain, “What? I’m not being nice to you just because you’re related to Nini. I’m nice to you because … well, I’m not really sure. You just seem … approachable. Besides, I don’t want you feeling lonely when Nini isn’t around. I know you’re still getting used to the new state and the new environment. Believe me, I know what it’s like to be forced in a new environment,” then slowly waving his arm in a dramatic fashion to refer to the room around them.

Nathan giggles at this motion before going on, “Well, I appreciate you wanting to genuinely be a friend.”

“So, back to it: what else about adjusting?”

Nathan looks at Ricky for a second before shifting his sitting position where he’s in a criss-cross-applesauce position on the chair and facing Ricky’s direction. “Before getting into that, can I say something weird and possibly original, possibly not?”

Ricky raises an eyebrow, “Uh, sure,” only to shift his own sitting position to face him.

“In your head, spell out the word ‘Entertainment’.”

“You’re seriously asking me to do more work right after school? My brain is fried.”

Nathan pairs a giggle and an eye-roll, “Just do it.”

After several seconds pass, Ricky nods, “Okay.”

“Now, how many ‘e’s’ are in that word?”

“Um, three?”

“Exactly. So, I like to think that there are the Three E’s of Entertainment, basically the main reasons why people go into entertainment: Education, Expression, and Escapism.”

“Cool concept, but I don’t know where you’re going with this.”

“What’s your E or E’s?”

“What brought this up?”

“The way you referred to this room as a ‘new environment’; and Nini has mentioned you & your story many times.”

“Many times? You’ve only been here less than a week.”

“Hey, Nini and I haven’t seen each other in years; but if there is one thing you should know about Filipinos, it’s that we naturally talk. Talk loudly, talk a lot, talk about innocent and not-so-innocent gossip, and many more.” 

Ricky now has a worried tone to his voice but still has the lightness in his voice to indicate a joking manner, “What has she said about me? Hopefully nothing embarrassing or maybe conspiring for her to break up with me.”

“Oh my gosh, no, I’m not conspiring for you two to break up! You two are so cute together. Anyways, we’ve talked about your two’s journey during the later half of last year with your lost-puppy-like self following her into doing a musical --”

“Whoa, did she actually describe it as ‘lost-puppy-like’?”

“Nope. That’s all me. It’s how I interpret the whole situation: you hate musicals but she loves them, a miscommunication about your feelings leads to a break-up, further miscommunication and angst, you eventually learn how to appreciate musicals and both of you redevelop your feelings for each other during the process of making a musical based on ‘High School Musical’, you feel sad but otherwise accept Nini possibly leaving for an arts school but she eventually doesn’t go, and now you’re happy.”

“Yeah, when you put it like that, I do sound like a lost puppy.” Both of them laugh to the point where their eyes close as their mouths open wider.

“Hey, you are cute like a puppy,” Nathan nonchalantly says; both quickly realize the off-hand comment and look at each other with wide eyes staring at each other. Nathan tries to recover, “I meant that in a platonic way! I mean, it’s stupid not to admit how you look, but that doesn’t mean that I want you in that way! Oh geez, I’m blabbing now, aren’t I?!”

Ricky goes, “Nathan, calm down! It’s okay. I know you don’t want that, because I see how you are with Nini.”

“What do you mean?”

“I see how you don’t want Nini hurt and you want to protect her & those she loves. Man, you went for a handshake when we first met --”

“It’s respectful!”

“-- and your first day here, you almost punched a guy because he knocked down Big Red’s lunch tray from his hands and you noticed Nini getting defensive but not confronting the guy so you did it yourself.”

He chuckles in response, “That’s probably not the best first impression to make in a new school.”

“You think?”

“Hey, in my defense, no punches were thrown and no one got in trouble, I see that as a win-win situation.” 

“Whatever you say,” a subdued laugh following that phrase.

“Anyways, what else? Oh, we talked about how her name came from you since I never heard that story before; uh, your childhood crush was Minnie Mouse and your longtime celebrity crush has been Hilary Duff --”

“Oh my God!”

“-- how mad she gets about how you’re so good at bowling & handstands; your concerning obsession with Vans high-top sneakers --”

“They’re good ankle support for skating, don’t judge.”

“-- this whole love triangle thing between you two and EJ, and I have to be honest, based on how Nini told the story, I’m confused as to how you and EJ became friends before Opening Night; --”

“‘Friendly.’ The story is too complicated to simplify it to ‘friends’ right now.”

“-- and how she thinks that you were always secretly a good singer and dancer, but never showed it until the musical. And based on the video of Opening Night that she sent, I would have to agree.”

“You really think so?”

“Yeah. I’ve been dancing most of my life; just as a hobby, but still I know skills when I see them.”

“Thanks.”

“Now this goes back into my Entertainment concept, what are your E’s?”

“How about you go first?”

“Are you trying to avoid the question, Ricky Bowen?”

“I’m still new to the concept, Nathan Salazar, so maybe an example can help me figure out my answer.”

“Huh, fair enough. And, uh, since I already mentioned dance, I’ll just use that.” Nathan preps for the incoming conversation by dropping his legs off the chair and shifting his body to face the open space of the Bomb Shelter. “Well, I’d like to think that I’m using all three when I dance.”

“In what ways?”

“So, the most obvious one is Expression. Not only is it a great exercise, but I can become whatever I want through dance. I can be confident with Hip Hop, I can be vulnerable with Contemporary, I can just be … me, without all the words. Then there’s Education: the audience learns about me through my movement; and I learn about both myself and the audience by how they react, what they like or dislike, much more.”

“Wow, I know that Carlos loves dance, but I’ve never heard it talked about that way.”

“What way?”

“Umm, a passionate way. An in-depth way. I haven’t seen you dance yet, but I can tell that you want to do this.”

“Well, you’re partially right. I want to keep dance in my life, but I don’t think I want it as a career. It seems best if stuck as a hobby.”

“Why not? I’ve seen very little people talk about their careers in the same way you just talked about something that you consider a hobby. What’s stopping you?”

“That leads me into the last E.”

“Escapism?”

“Mm-hmm. Nini’s adopted, so I doubt she knows the ins-and-outs of my family. But as much as I love -- loved -- my parents and how they provided for me financially, … they weren’t really the best at supporting me emotionally. One of the things I don’t regret when it comes to my parents before they died was coming out to them as bi-curious; but that conversation among so many others were just too painful or awkward, so we never really talked to each other about our feelings. Plus, both of them were nurses and desperately wanted me to follow in their footsteps, but they kept on talking about it as if it was a given or a requirement that I would follow through with their dreams; not really slowing down to listen to my own.”

Ricky’s eyes widen, “Oh,” but just as quickly close and he shakes his head as if to refocus. “I’m so sorry, Nathan.” 

Nathan hears the hesitancy in Ricky’s response and notices the head motion, but is too confused by it to address it so he continues, “Nursing made good money for both of them, but not good enough to keep them home most of the time. So, while they were working or resting at home, I was the one to stay at home to cook, clean, help with the garden, grocery-shop, all the works for most of my life. And if I’m being more honest with you: I’m grateful that you and Nini’s friends have been so great to me not because you’re filling a void of friends I left behind in California, but because you’re the first real friends I’ve had in awhile.”

“Really? I thought you went to public school? Plus, I’d bet that being a 15-year-old with enough credits to be a senior in high school got you a lot of attention.”

“Well, Mr. Bowen, you would be mistaken. Because of my parents’ stressing the importance of good grades in addition to my aforementioned responsibilities, my social life is in no way considered normal. I was friendly at school, but I would say that I’m a ‘social jumper’: I know a lot of people, but my connections with them weren’t strong enough to be considered true friends, I guess.”

“You really like coming up with your own terms, don’t you? ‘Social jumper’?”

“Hey, Psychology classes have been very influential.”

“Is that what you’ve been thinking of getting into for your career?”

“Yeah. It’s not dance, but connecting with & helping people have always been strong suits of mine and Counseling Psychologist still pays pretty well. Still, maybe it’s just my parents in my head that led me to figuring out a middle ground in the first place to appease them or something; but for now, it makes me happy and seems realistic. However, with them gone, I’m not completely sure of what I want out of life anymore.”

“That’s good to hear. At least you’ve found that about yourself and still open to figuring yourself out. And I appreciate that you feel you can talk to me about this stuff.”

“Well, you just seem … approachable.” The two go back to laughing out loud.

“Oh wow, that was a good one, not gonna lie.”

“Good that you think that. So,” shifting back into the legs-on-the-chair position while facing Ricky again. “What are your E’s?”

“Why are you trying so hard to get an answer out of me?”

“Because I want to get to know you more, but more-so I’m genuinely curious. Nini has already told me about your grand romantic gesture of getting into musicals for her which has obviously worked out for you up to this point; and she also mentioned how you watched more musicals with her over Winter break and seeming content but not overly-excited about them. So, let me ask you about now: why are you still doing this?”

Ricky’s eyes squint, “What?”

“Are you happy? Doing this musical theater stuff? Sure, you may say you like it now especially with Nini and your friends alongside you, but does this make you happy? If you’re satisfied with where your relationship is at with Nini emotionally, why still be here? Do you see yourself doing this in the long run? Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for the whole Troy Bolton situation where he pursues both of the things he loves;” this gets a change in expression where Ricky goes from confusion to laughter. “But the thing about that situation is that he loved both. Is this the same way with you in musical theater and skating?”

Stunned, all Ricky can give Nathan are incomprehensible stammers.

Noticing the change, Nathan drops the posture in his shoulders as he realizes what he had just done, “Oh no, that’s too many questions. I’m sorry, Ricky, if this is too much pressure.”

“No, no. You’re fine. It’s just --”

Nathan interrupts with a deep sigh preceding this next part: “Look, take it from a guy who has been practically sheltered for most of his short life. I know that I want to be in Nini’s life; and I know that dance is not going to sustain me for the dreams that I’ve been making up, so Psychology has been a good-enough medium so far. I know that it’s not certain and that this may seem like a lot coming from someone you don’t know all too well, but I just want to make sure that you’re happy and building towards what you want.”

“Wow. Just, I never really --” Ricky’s thought is interrupted once again by a ring from Nathan’s phone. Nathan pulls his phone out of his pocket to check out the notification and Ricky asks, “Who is that?”

“Oh, it’s just Nini; she says she’s in front of the school now.” He texts her back ‘In the Bomb Shelter. Omw now’; then turns his attention back to Ricky before projecting a dry laugh and standing from his chair. “Well, I guess we’ll have to shelf this conversation for now. Nini’s driving; do you need a ride?” Ricky simply gives him a thin smile and head shake, so Nathan goes, “Well, I’ll see you around, Ricky.”

Just as Nathan starts to walk off, Ricky stands from his chair and says, “Wait.” Nathan immediately turns around to hear Ricky say, “Expression and Escapism.”

“Ooo, now we’re getting somewhere.” Nathan’s phone chimes again, but he ignores it and keeps the device in his pocket so he can keep focus on Ricky. “If you’re comfortable, go on.”

“At the start, I wanted to show Nini how I can commit to something, to show her that that’s my way to commit to us. However, it got more fun as the days went by, the group became like a family, and I was actually enjoying myself.”

“That’s great.”

A momentary pause hits the conversation, then Ricky noticeably tenses up with a deep breath and fidgeting with his hands, “But, uh, looking back on it, I can see that I was using rehearsals to stay away from the house. Um --” he interrupts himself to wrap his arms in front of himself as if he’s giving himself a hug before confessing, “My parents hadn’t been good for a while even before I joined the musical and they divorced early October.”

It’s Nathan’s turn to widen his eyes and he instantly goes into apologetic mode: “Oh no. I’m so sorry.” He approaches Ricky again and reaches out with his hand, but shortly stops himself before any contact occurs. “I was pressuring you into something that I didn’t know was that sensitive. I’m really sorry, Ricky.” The apology halts indefinitely at this moment when Ricky connects with a surprise hug, eyes closed and tight squeeze. There is a pause where no one speaks or moves beyond Ricky’s hug, but eventually Nathan reciprocates the hug. “Hey, it’s going to get better from here. You have a great support system in this drama department, and at the very least you have Nini.”

Ricky shakes his head while his chin rests on Nathan’s chin, “That’s not what this hug is for.”

“For what, then?”

Ricky releases the hug and looks Nathan in the eyes as he speaks, “No one’s ever talked to me like that before, mentioned all of that before. I’ve kept my distance from my parents for a while since they were handling their business and Nini & I just got back together, so I haven’t had anyone to talk about that kind of stuff with.”

“Doesn’t your school have college and career advisors?”

“That’s a job?”

“How long have you been at this school and not noticed that?”

“Not the point.”

“Sorry. Continue.”

“I haven’t really … thought about what has made me happy. People have made me happy and I’m warming up to musicals, but I’m working out if it’s what will make me happy for the rest of my life.”

“Hey,” Nathan starts as he goes to reach out and hold Ricky’s bicep with one hand. “I’m not saying that you need a map of your life right now; no one ever really has the maps figured out too far anyways. All I’m saying is that, for once, you need to think about you. You can still care about others, but at the same time you’re allowed to think for yourself about what you want for yourself.”

“I see what you mean. And thank you, really.”

‘I’m here now. So if we ever need help, we’ve got each other. And new fun fact about you I’ve learned: you give amazing hugs.”

“Can I give you another one? You also give good hugs.”

“Sure thing.” This time, the two engage in the hug at the same time.

After what feels like a minute, their chests separate from each other; but their hands still grip onto each other by the arms and they are staring longer than might be considered normal for a platonic relationship. Then, out of nowhere, Ricky unexpectedly leans his upper body closer as if attempting a kiss. 

Nathan stops the advance immediately with an extended arm and hand on Ricky’s chest. He yelps, “Ricky! What do you think you’re doing?"

Ricky’s eyes widened in that moment, looking just as startled as Nathan. Because of the shock, he can’t go any louder than a whispery volume, “I, I, -- I don’t know. I don’t know what came over me.”

Just as he finishes his sentence, a pair of sneakers squeak to a halt at the entrance of the room. Both Nathan and Ricky turn their heads to see the source as Nini; her eyebrows furrowed together as she asks with a forced smile on her face & confusion rich in her voice, “What’s going on here?”

The two boys release their contact with each other and try to quickly recover from the tension. Finally, Ricky and Nathan say simultaneously and as innocent as they can, "Hi, Nini."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was daydreaming about this concept one day, and I only really focused on the dialogue that day. So, I was trying something new where my writing would be more dialogue-based because the visualizations seemed to flow better before I applied the movements "on paper". Hope you guys enjoyed this and future chapters!


	2. Nini and Nathan

Nini is walking through the East High parking lot with a slight pep in her step, her mind on a high after acing that Trigonometry test in 6th period. She wanted to treat herself, so she got a small fruit medley bowl at the café before coming back to pick up Nathan. Nathan wanted to stay on campus a little while longer to explore, so Nini drove by herself and is now back on campus. Nini shuffles through her pocket to take out her phone when it brings up the text conversation with her cousin:

‘In the Bomb Shelter. Omw now.’

A minute ago, once she parked the car, she had texted him back, ‘No, it’s fine. I’ll come to you with your coffee crunch muffin.’

So far, he hasn’t responded; so she shoves her phone back into her pocket while miraculously still holding all the food she bought.

After another minute of maneuvering through the maze of East High, she approaches the open door of the Bomb Shelter. She arrives at the door jammer, only to find her cousin & her boyfriend in each other’s arms and all fours eyes wide as when Eliza gasps at the end of ‘Hamilton’.

Nini straightens her posture, furrows her eyebrows as close as they can get, and forces a thin smile on her face as she gets their attention, “What’s going on here?”

The boys release their contact from each other and obviously try to shake off whatever just happened. Eventually, both Ricky and Nathan say as innocently as they can, “Hi, Nini.”

Nathan goes on to say, “I texted you saying that I was on my way to the front.”

Nini states, “Well, I texted right after, saying that I would come to you. So, can someone tell me what just happened here?” Both boys can't bring themselves to make any comprehensible words but rather just stammers and high-pitched noises; so Nini proceeds to walk off in frustration.

Nathan takes a quick look at Ricky in worry, then rushes to catch up with Nini. As he passes through the exit of the Bomb Shelter, Ricky remains in the room, totally dumbfounded.

Eventually, Nathan takes one last turn before finally seeing Nini with her angry walk. He tries calling out to her, “Nini! Nini, can you listen to me please? Nini!” She’s not paying him any attention; and she has the glass doors in her sights when he brings out the nuclear option: “Ate Nina Salazar-Roberts!” She halts in her tracks and turns around as Nathan finally closes some of the long space between them, “Look, I know you saw something a little suspicious, but you are not about to act like we’re in some movie where you just walk in and then walk away with your mind all over the place without an actual explanation given to you. So can we please talk like human beings?” the last sentence is pulled out once he’s a few feet away from Nini.

She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, but you can still tell by the tension in her jaw that she did not want to listen to the crap she was expecting to come from her cousin’s mouth, “Okay. What were you doing with my boyfriend and why were the two of you in each other’s arms?”

“We were just talking, I swear! Sure, it might have gotten a little deep, a little quickly --”

“What does ‘a little deep, a little quickly’ even mean?”

“Can I trust that I can explain it to you without constant interruptions?”

Nini transitions her standing position so that her weight is on one side, the other leg relaxed & the toes impatiently tapping against the floor, and her arms crossed along her body while still holding the café food in her hands. She huffs another breath before almost growling, “Fine.”

“Thank you. We really were just talking. He found me dancing, and we just went off: me about my adjusting to Utah and the school, him being thankful that I trusted him and all of your friends into helping me adjust, how the two of us have talked about him this past week …;” the last part is paired with Nathan smiling warmly at Nini, to which she noticeably loses the tension in her body. “Then that’s when things got … interesting.”

“Interesting in what way?”

“He wanted to keep talking about my adjustment period here, but I kinda forced a tangent where I talked about my Three E’s concept.”

“Oh yeah. Your ‘Three E’s of Entertainment.’ I remember us talking about that and how that should be an actual concept by how well you explained it.”

“Don’t try to flatter me while you’re still mad.”

“I’m not mad, Nathan; I’m just confused.”

Nathan tilts his head to the side and brings his gaze to Nini’s hands, then goes, “You sure about that?” He puckers his lips in the direction of her left hand that’s tucked under her right arm.

Nini follows the pucker-point to her hand, only to find crumbs all over her jeans and sneakers from the coffee crunch muffin crushed from her grip. Her eyes widen at the sight and tries to hold in a laugh; but she looks back up at Nathan to find him trying his best to hold in his laughter as well. Ultimately, the both of them bust out laughing as the muffin continues crumbling in her hand. “Oh my gosh, stop laughing!”

“How can I? That was so perfectly timed!” They chuckle for a few more seconds before he resumes, “You’re lucky that wasn’t a drink or a juicy muffin.”

“Ew, don’t say ‘juicy’ to describe a muffin.”

“Hey, some blueberry or other fruit muffins can be juicy.”

“Okay, stop saying juicy in general!”

“Okay, fine!” They continue laughing through that whole conversation; and once they start dying down, Nathan says, “Now can I get back to the story?”

“Hoo, uh, yeah. Sorry. You were on the Three E’s.”

“Oh yeah. Okay. Anyways, looking back on it, I think I was a little over-insistent with asking him what his were. I told him I was curious based on some quick observations I made about him, he then asked me to give an example so i told him mine, we talked about my parents & a little bit of life before Utah, he seemed into the concept so I tried asking again but we were interrupted by your text, and before I could leave he told me his E’s.”

Throughout that exposition, Nini’s face was progressively softening and her arms dropped to her sides. At the end, she went to ask, “And then what happened?”

“Before you texted, I tried explaining myself further by asking if he felt happy with his life, like happy with all of this musical theater stuff. I knew from your stories about him that he came into this world to get you back and that he seemed happy ever since; so maybe I was thinking too much into my observations. So, when he told me about his E’s, I felt so dumb for asking since I didn’t know about his parents’ divorce until now.” 

While he was talking, Nathan seemed to get slowly more erratic and caught up in his emotions. Noticing this, Nini tries to reach out both physically and verbally, “Nathan, I --”

But he cuts her off, “I promise I wasn’t trying to poison the well against you two or anything. I would never mean to do that to you, but it just all happened so fast with him saying that no one has ever really asked him if he was happy and how he wasn’t so comfortable talking about it with his parents or you since you two just got back together & he didn’t want to put so much pressure on you and --”

Nini engages him from going further in his verbal spiral by contacting her wrists to his upper arms and trying to put on a disarming smile on her face, “How could you ever poison the well against us?”

With tears in his eyes, Nathan can only get as much as a whisper, “Ricky tried to kiss me.”

Nini’s attempt at a smile immediately faded away; and yet she doesn’t devolve into anger, but rather stays calm.

Seeing this, Nathan continues, “I wanted him to be open and vulnerable with me because that’s how I thought friends were supposed to be with each other, but it got too deep too quick and I know that it’s my fault. You do have the right to be mad at me for what happened, but I hope you somehow forgive me because I can’t lose you too, Nini! I can’t lose you too --”

Nathan’s trance during his hysterical rant is interrupted by the sound of Nini dropping her fruit bowl & broken muffin and the feeling of her arms wrapping around his body. With eyes closed and chin resting on Nathan’s right shoulder, Nini says, “You could never lose me. We’re family, remember?”

Nathan’s arms were frozen in the air when she first contacted with him, but eventually he brings his arms around his cousin’s body. Through small sniffles, he brings up, “I know I haven’t reached out that much in our lives before this, but I want you to know that I love you, Ate.”

Nini opens her eyes and takes a deep sigh before saying, “Well, you’re here now; and I love you too, Nathan.”

The two tighten their hug and stay there for about a minute in silence.

Nini is the first to ease up, so they disconnect the hug while not adding too much space between each other. She breaks the silence, “So, uh, do you want me to get you another muffin?”

Both of them chuckle, then Nathan responds, “Nah, it’s okay. We still have a lot of snacks at home.”

“Gotchu.”

“We should probably clean this mess up, though.”

“Yeah, true.”

The two crouch down to the floor and pick at as many crumbs as they can handle; Nini hands Nathan her crumbs for him to walk them to the nearest trash can while she picks up her somehow still-intact fruit bowl and their backpacks. Once she has everything, she brings her attention to Nathan, who is now standing in front of the trash can longer than necessary.

She points it out, “Are you okay?”

Nathan turns around from the trash can with a somber smile on his face; “What are you going to do about Ricky?” asking as he reaches his hand for his backpack in Nini’s arm.

Nini bites the inside of her lower lip before responding, “Something I’ve learned about Ricky is that he doesn’t function at his best when you pressure him while he’s already feeling vulnerable.”

“Huh, kinda learned that just now.”

“Yep. So, I can try to text him saying that the two of us should meet up soon; but he’ll come around on his own time eventually. He just needs time to process everything.”

“Wow, girlfriend goals much?”

“Try telling that to Ricky … after I’m done talking to him.” They laugh that statement off as they walk together through the glass doors.

“Sure thing, Ate.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ^For my non-Filipinx/-Filipinx-Americans, the term Ate (Ah-teh) is an honorific in Tagalog which means "older sister" but can apply to any older female figure that's older than you but too young to be considered your aunt or grandparent; for example, a friend you consider family, a cousin, etc.


	3. Nini and Ricky

‘Whenever you’re ready, we should talk.’

That’s the most recent text Nini has displayed on her phone screen; a message she sent to Ricky the moment she arrived home from her conversation with Nathan. Now, four hours later, the Salazar-Roberts family along with Nathan are laughing around the dining table. Both of the adults came home early, Nini told them about her aced test, and it’s simply a Friday night; all of which are solid reasons for the family to take-out Olive Garden. 

7:30 comes around, and the family is just now starting to clean up when there is a knock on the front door. Nathan is packing foods into tupperwares and the adults are tag-teaming the dishes, so Nini walks over from the kitchen to the door and unlocks it to find Ricky. And from just looking at him, he looks like a nervous wreck or like he’s been crying although no tear marks seem too apparent.

Surprised, she softly starts, “Oh, hi Ricky.”

He goes, “Hi. I think I’m ready to talk.”

Carol shouts over the running water, “Nini sweetie, who’s at the door?!”

Nini yells, “It’s Ricky, Mom!”

Dana continues the yelling conversation, “Did he have dinner yet?!”

Nini turns her attention back to Ricky, “Did you have dinner already?”

Ricky responds, “Oh, no thanks.”

Nini shouts back towards the kitchen, “He said ‘no thanks’!”

Nathan chimes in, “That doesn’t answer the question, though!”

Nini laughs silently; and once she turns back to Ricky, it looks like a smile is creeping up on his face as well. She continues with a chuckle, “Why don’t you come in and eat? Even just a little to put my family’s worries to rest. We have a lot of Olive Garden.”

Ricky grips at his arms in his usual self-hugging manner, “Maybe later, if that’s okay. Honestly, if we don’t say what we need to say, I think I’m gonna explode.”

“Oh my gosh, okay. Um, yeah, come in and I’ll meet you in my bedroom.”

“Okay,” he says in so much as a whisper. He snakes around Nini, leaves his shoes at the door, and quickly yet silently runs up the stairs.

Dana walks from the kitchen and looks around the living room & entrance-way, “Is everything okay, Nini?”

Nini wipes her hands against the bottom of her top, even though they weren’t dirty or wet in the first place. “Uh, yeah. Ricky just wants to talk privately, so he’s up in my room right now.”

“Okay. Well, make sure he eats and that he’s okay.”

“He said he might take up on the Olive Garden offer later.”

Separately, Carol walks through the room jamb outlining the edges of the kitchen & living room, looking back while holding onto both car keys and Dana’s purse; “Are you sure this is okay?”

Nathan responds, “Totally. Other than work and sleeping, you two haven’t had much alone together since I came to Utah. You two deserve it.”

Nini leans over to see them talking, “What’s going on?”

Dana answers as she retrieves her purse from her wife, “Your mother and I are going to the movies. We shouldn’t be too late; I still have work tomorrow.”

Nathan comes back, “Which reminds me: Tita, anything in particular for your baon tomorrow? I can pack it up now so it’s ready to grab.”

“Oh sure, Nathan. I’ll just take some chicken alfredo in that rectangular glass tupperware with the lime green rubber.”

“Got it.”

Carol hugs Nathan while talking to both Nini and him, “Since Ricky is here, you don’t need to arm the alarm right as we leave. But if we’re not back by 10 and Ricky has left by then, then go ahead and arm it. We’ll see you guys later,” she says as she gets to hugging Nini.

“Will do, Mom,” Nini states as Dana walks back to kiss Nathan’s cheek. Once Dana kisses Nini’s own cheek, the adults exit and Nathan heads back for the kitchen. Nini scurries into the kitchen, “Hey, do you need help with anything in here?”

Nathan scoffs with a smile, “Nini, thank you, but I got this. You have a boyfriend to check up on.”

Nini flashes her teeth before saying, “Thank you!”

But before she can make a substantial break for it, he calls out, “Take some breadsticks and a water bottle up for him just in case he gets hungry or thirsty!”

Nini reappears in the kitchen, “You are so smart!” She shuffles through the kitchen, grabbing a plate off the island counter, some breadsticks on the dining table, and a water bottle from a cabinet underneath the island counter.

She momentarily struggles with holding the items in her arms as she tries to rush up the stairs as well as to turn the knob of her bedroom door, but she eventually has a handle over them by the time she softly pushes the door with her foot. There, she finds Ricky pacing back and forth, fiddling with his hands, and mumbling a rehearsed speech to himself.

She starts off the conversation, “Hey, Ricky? I brought these just in case you needed them while we talk.”

The focus over him is dispelled as he turns to look at her; and tries to smile while saying “Thanks,” but the smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Here, sit,” pointing to the bed while she arranges the stuff in her hands upon her desk. She then walks over to the bed and sits next to Ricky before continuing, “Okay. What did you want to talk about?”

“I love you, Nini.”

“I love you too, Ricky.”

“You know that, right?”

“I do. What brought this on?”

“I feel really happy when I’m with you, Nini.” A pause occurs, a moment allowing him to brace himself for what may happen. “But being with your cousin this past week and especially today … I don’t know. He made me feel --”

“Seen?”

Ricky’s eyes widen at the interruption, more so in surprise at the accuracy than in thinking of it as rude. “How did you know?”

“This past week, he’s made me feel more seen than my own parents sometimes. He’s helped with my homework while my moms were busy, cooked most of the meals my family has had this week, and he seems genuinely invested when we talk. Also, the two of us did talk about what happened in the Bomb Shelter between you two today.”

“You did?”

“Yeah, but I’d like to hear it from your perspective.” She shifts her sitting position closer to Ricky before she places her hands into his. “What happened today?”

Ricky takes in a deep breath before answering, “We were in the Bomb Shelter and we just started talking: the weather, how he’s been adjusting; he even thought I had an obligation to be nice to him just because he is your cousin.”

“He really said that?”

“Yeah, and I quickly shut it down because he actually is very fun to talk to. Then, he started talking about this concept he had called the ‘Three E’s of Entertainment;’ and while I don’t think the idea itself is weird, I did find it weird at first how insistent he was in answering him with my own. But he finally said that it was because he wanted to know if I was happy.”

“Happy about what?”

“Just happy. Happy about musical theater, happy about life, happy with you. He said something like if I was satisfied with where our relationship is, then why still be in musical theater if we were in a good place; then he talked about his life a bit and how he didn’t want what happened to him with choosing Psychology just to get his parents off his back happen to me.”

“Well, the question is, are you happy with being in musical theater?”

“For a little bit, I was. It was nice to commit to something and be with other people, especially you. But, after that conversation with Nathan, I saw that musical theater was mostly to get closer to you and away from my parents’ drama.”

“So, what does that mean?”

“I still want you in my life and the rest of the crew from my time there; you guys are family. But I’m not so sure anymore that I want all the musical theater stuff itself in my life. I’m not sure about what I want anymore really, but let me be clear that I don’t think Nathan is getting into my head or anything manipulative … but he really got me thinking, you know?”

“He does have that effect on people.”

“Right? And we’re going to be seniors soon, so it’d be nice to know where I’d be going or what I want to do, you know?”

“Right.”

“Yeah. Anyways, I eventually gave into answering him my E’s --”

“Which are?” something she asks with genuine curiosity and a smile to boot.

Ricky actually chuckles for the first time since coming to the Salazar-Roberts household tonight, “Expression and Escapism.”

Nini hums, “Hmm, that does make sense.”

“But yeah. I gave in, and once I told him about my parents, he immediately got super apologetic and reflective; and out of instinct, I just hugged him.”

“That’s one way to shut him up.”

“I didn’t mean it in that way, though. I hugged him because I appreciated him talking to me like that, talking very real with me. We’ve had our talks and everything, but hearing him with his concern and honesty just felt … different and strangely comforting. I feel like I’ve talked more honestly with you two this past year & a half than I’ve ever done with my parents my whole life.”

“Whoa.”

“But then that’s when I messed up.”

“‘Messed up?’”

“We went in for a second hug because we told each other that the other person gives good hugs, and before we separated, I -- “ but before he could finish, he started struggling to get the words out through the tears and heavy breaths.

Nini leans in closer with urgency, “Hey, hey. Ricky, Ricky. It’s okay. Take your time.”

Ricky sucks in a gulp of air before he tries to continue, “I’m so sorry, Nini. It was so in the moment and he just made me feel good & seen, and … I went for a kiss.” Nini tightens her grip slightly on Ricky’s hand, but it’s not so much to hurt him and she sustains soft eye contact with him. He goes on, “He immediately stopped me before we did it, and that’s when you came in and I couldn’t even function or anything. And even now I don’t mean to hurt you in any way or your cousin in any way, but I feel like I totally screwed things up between us and --”

Nini squeezes his hands to bring his attention back to her as she says, “Ricky.” His eyes widen, but hers soften back again as she brings her tone down almost to a whisper, “I’m not mad.”

Ricky keeps his eyes wide but is slow in widening his mouth before matching her volume with a “What?”

“I’m not mad. At either you or Nathan.”

“You’re not mad? At all?”

Nini shakes her head, “No.”

“Why not?” he asks as if he was a confused puppy.

“Because after Nathan told me his side of the story after school today, he really got me thinking too. And I think I’ve been selfish with you. We’d only watch musicals this whole winter break because I wanted to immerse you into the world since it was something new that we could share; but I never really thought about how it was affecting you or if you even wanted to do anything else. I was so glad that I got you into my world that I never really made an effort to get into yours.”

“To be fair, I did try to teach you how to skate that one time and let’s just say --”

She raises her hand, palm facing him, “Ahh, we promised never to talk about that day. It’s way too embarrassing to talk about.”

Finally, Ricky produces a full-on laugh. “Sorry, continue.”

“If I’ve learned anything about our relationship and from Nathan’s relationship with his parents, it’s that every relationship is healthy if it is based on balance and communication. So, while you were in my world for a little bit, I haven’t really gotten too deep into yours; and I’m sorry for that. And now that I think about it, even after we got back together, we never talked in-depth about how your parents’ divorce made you feel.”

“Oh. Well, maybe another time. Right now doesn’t seem like a good time.”

“Okay then. How about this: can you answer me this next question?”

Hesitantly, Ricky replies, “Sure.”

Nini, with full honesty and full vulnerability, asks something that hits Ricky like a freight train, “How do boys make you feel?”

Tears come back streaming down his face, an expression of almost worry covers it as he goes, “I don’t know.”

“Okay, then let’s go to a more specific topic: how does Nathan make you feel?”

The sadness is still apparent on his face, but the worry aspect seems to fade as he responds, “Seen. Heard. Warm. Relied on and able to rely on him.”

“Happy?”

“I’m not too sure about that one in that context yet. Both of you make me happy in a platonic way, but I’m not sure about that … other way … with him. I’m not even sure I’m happy by myself just yet.”

She re-grips his hands, “Hey, there’s no need to rush this. How you feel is going to be about how you want to feel; knowing what you want is going to be about you yourself figuring out what makes you happy. And those things are going to take time.”

Ricky brings a smile to his face, although the joy doesn’t fully reach his eyes but there are some noticeable glimmers in them. He comments, “You are an amazing girlfriend. You know that, right?”

Nini snickers, “Funny thing about that is that Nathan said something similar before we left campus today. But, now, I think I’m better as a friend rather than a girlfriend.”

Smile, gone. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that we work amazingly as friends. I mean, we went through making High School Musical as friends before we got back together in Opening Night; and I’d say we were successful in making it work.”

“Truuuuue.”

“And it’s clear that you have a lot to work on for yourself; and I won’t be much help if I stick around as your girlfriend.”

“But I don’t even know if I am --”

“Not just in that way, Ricky. Through thick and thin, we will still be there for each other. You can stick around in musical theater this semester or you can drop out. You can dream up your dream career now or not even until you’re in college. You don’t have to figure your sexuality for a couple hours or even in several years. No matter what happens, I am here for you; but for now, I will be there for you as a friend. Anything beyond that will only slow you down, and you deserve the time and mental energy to figure this stuff out for yourself.”

“Nini?”

“Yes, Ricky?”

“You’re amazing.”

“Why, thank you,” accentuating with a dramatic hair flick.

“I don’t deserve you in my life.”

“Well, guess what? I’m already in it and there are no take backs, Ricky Bowen.” This gets the two of them laughing. “Besides, you’re pretty amazing too. You just need to find it in yourself to tell it to yourself.”

“Wow, this is the smoothest breakup ever.”

“Oh, don’t get it twisted. I’m totally going back to school on Monday, telling everyone how you dramatically broke my heart and everything,” clearly saying in a joking tone. This gets them laughing again.

After a good minute of laughter, Ricky refocuses the conversation, “So, what do I do about Nathan?”

Nini purses her lips in thought for a second, then answers, “Nathan has proven time and time again how mature he is for his age. He’s patient, but willing to listen when you ask for his attention. So, talk to him whenever you are ready with what to say and how to say it. You don’t have to profess your love to him tonight, especially if that’s not how you’ll feel now or in the future; but give him something.”

“Okay. I think I can do that.”

“Good. Now,” she proceeds to stand up from the bed before she says, “Olive Garden?”

Ricky smiles at his ex-girlfriend, the joy finally reaching his eyes and tension leaving his shoulders, before standing up and nodding, “Olive Garden.”


	4. Ricky

Let’s just say Ricky is … in the middle right now. He’s not exactly bouncing off the walls in excitement and positivity right now; but he’s not necessarily down either. It’s been exactly a week since his encounter in the Bomb Shelter with Nathan and his break-up with Nini. And while he’s not as torn-up about the latter compared when they officially broke up at the beginning of the school year, he’s still been sitting on what Nini said that night. Add in the notes he got by Miss Jenn about his role in “Beauty and the Beast” and the tests he had for his midterm week, and it’s just your average example of overworked students dealing with the eruption of workload and the whirlwind of teenage feelings all at the same time.

Right now, Ricky’s leaning back in a chair in the Bomb Shelter in silence; frustrated by how much he couldn’t focus so well today. Mostly everyone else has pretty much gone home from today’s rehearsal, and it’s only 6:30ish, so there is still some light creeping into the room before sunset at 7. Some of the golden light lands on his face, waking him from his nap and forcing him to fling his body forward so he doesn’t dramatically fall from his chair.

So, yeah, Ricky is tired and super relieved that it’s Friday again. So tired in fact, he gets called out for it:

“Are you okay?”

Ricky turns his head towards the doorway where the voice was coming from, and he sees its source as Nini. He goes, “Hi. Yeah, I’m good.”

She responds, “Really? ‘Cause the Ricky I saw today was more like a zombie. Then again, you were reacting to when people talked to you, so what’s a step above zombie?” bringing her hand to her chin to make her look inquisitive.

He distracts, “What are you still doing here? We got released half an hour ago.”

Sitting down next to Ricky, Nini answers, “Nathan is in the middle of this student seminar in the counseling center; and Kourtney wanted to give Gina, Ashlyn, and me a sneak peek at some of the dresses she’s been working on. Maybe also a fitting, depending on if we have time. And don’t try to change the subject: are you really okay?”

“Just tired. Lots of notes from Miss Jenn and midterms all this week equals little to no sleep.”

“Is that it?”

“My parents’ anniversary is coming up and Dad has already started feeling down on himself. And Miss Jenn is too busy that day so she can’t distract him, so I don’t know what to do.”

“I’m sorry that you have to go through all of that. Is there any way I can help?”

“Nothing I can think of now, and I don’t want you caught up in it. But thanks. Thank you for trying, even if we are broken up.”

“I never intended on leaving in the first place. I told you, I’m always going to be here for you, friend or otherwise.”

A moment of silence passes through them, then Ricky breaks the silence once again, “I miss you,” said with this sad puppy eyes face.

She quints in confusion but keeps her smile, “I never left, though.”

He starts breaking into a flow, “Yeah, yeah -- I know you didn’t leave. It’s just that, what I mean is that I miss us. Us being together was easier, us growing up together to then become boyfriend and girlfriend, just straight-forward. But then I over-complicated it by not saying ‘I love you’ the first time then all this stuff happening; and then we’re back together but then I start having feelings for your cousin and then --”

She stops him with a raised hand, “Ricky, wait.” He immediately notices the interruption and goes wide-eyed towards her. She continues, “Did you say what I think you just said?”

“What?”

“You have feelings for Nathan?”

Realization hits, but all he can get out is a whispery “Oh,” followed by turning his head to stare into space and freaking out even more with a normal-volumed “Oh my God.”

Nini says, “Oh my God,” but with significantly more enthusiasm than him. “Ricky, do you like him?!”

“No! Maybe. I don’t know, Nini!”

“Well, last week, you told me that the two of us make you happy in a platonic way yet you weren’t sure in a romantic way when it came to Nathan; and now during your slip, you admit to having feelings for him!” she says with utter glee, so much so that she’s bouncing in her seat as she adjusts her position to face Ricky. “So what changed?”

A deep breath in, a deep breath out. Afterwards, he responds, still looking into his forward space, “I don’t know, Nini. I don’t know what to say. There are so many great things about him, but I don’t know what to say. I don’t know how to feel about .. any of this.”

Nini places a hand on his shoulder, getting Ricky to turn his face back to her. “Ricky, you know, in musicals, when people burst into song when they’ve run out of things to say?”

He shifts his body towards facing her, furrows his eyebrows, and purses his lips as he says, “I don’t see how you kissing me helps my situation.”

She breaks into her cute little laugh, dropping her head down for a moment, before picking it back up and telling him, “Great memory, but now I actually mean that literally.”

“What?”

Nini stands from her chair and flings her arms dramatically to her sides, “Like actually bust out into song. You may have run out of the words to say, but there is a song out there that allows you to feel the emotions you want to feel or you’re too afraid to feel. Or you can write your own song. Sing it, play in your head, even scream it if you want. Just let the song take over and let it let you feel what you need to feel.” Ricky makes up no words during or after her own speech; and before he can even attempt, Nini’s phone rings. She picks the phone from her pocket, peeks at the message just sent to her, and groans. “Gina just texted. Kourtney is ready for the fittings.” She walks over to him and gently grabs at his hands, “If you want, we can talk about this later. But remember, sometimes all you need to do, Ricky, is just sing. I’ll see you later.”

All he can do is stare at her leaving figure, dumbfounded at the suddenness of her proclamation. He sings and plays the guitar and sometimes writes his own music, but he’s never just broken out into song before. While Nini had shown him a lot of musicals during the break and he didn’t hate all of them, the concept of people spontaneously going into musical mode in the middle of the street still eluded him. Still, watching those same musicals, he got the appeal; the characters’ full-out expressions through song seemed easy to do and almost cathartic to them. 

Maybe he could give it a shot. See where it takes him.

Ricky stands from his seat and walks towards the middle of the room. He raises his arms in a familiar gesture, but realizes that he doesn’t have his guitar in the room or on campus. He looks over to the piano, but he’s not as good as he wants despite the practices with Nini and Seb; and his mediocre playing might ruin his vibe. He speaks to himself, “Acapella, then. But what should I even sing?” 

Ricky closes his eyes to better access his mental library of musicals he liked watching or just any song that could capture how he’s feeling: conflicted, desperate, confused, lost. After a few seconds of recollection, nothing. Then, he remembers something Nini said: ‘Sing it, play it in your head, even scream it if you want.’ The word ‘scream’ pops up in his head, but it takes more time before realizing the connection: the weekend after Opening Night last semester, the cast had a movie marathon party with all the High School Musical movies, even Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure. One of the songs that stood out to Ricky was ‘Scream’ from the third movie, not only because of the cool effect in the hallway but also because he found the song relatable; not for any particular reason at that time, but just in general. Now, it seemed almost perfect.

“Okay. Here goes nothing, I guess, Nini.” He sways his head to the sides a few times in order to crack his neck, pumps his arms around the air, and takes in a few deep breaths. He continues trying to hype himself up, “Okay. Here we go. This is me doing it.” One last deep breath, then one note, then a sudden pause. “I forgot how the song starts. Ugh, why does this look so much easier in the movies?” He paces in the room with arms wrapped around himself, looking for the right words or pretty much any of the words in the song. Finally, he goes, “Screw it, I think I just remember the chorus.” One deep breath and a few wrist-shakes later, he starts with eyes closed and in an unsure tone:

_ I don’t know where to go, what’s the right team? _

_ I want my own thing, so bad I’m gonna scream _

_ I can’t choose, so confused _

_ What’s it all mean? _

_ I want my own dream, so bad I’m gonna scream _

Eventually, Ricky starts getting into the groove and emotion of the song, intensifying his movements and tone as he goes on:

_ Yeah, the clock’s runnin’ down _

_ Hear the crowd getting loud _

_ I’m consumed by the sound _

_ Is it her?  _

_ Is it him?  _ [his eyes widen as he catches this change coming out, but he’s too into the song that he continues on]

_ Can the music ever be enough? _

_ Gotta work it out, gotta work it out _

_ You can do it, you can do it! _

At this point, he’s devolving into fist pumps, holding his head in his hands, and foot stomping. His eyes re-open, but he’s imagining himself in an empty stage; lights flashing behind him, no audience in front of him, just him and this moment.

_ I don’t know where to go _

_ What’s the right team? _

_ I want my own thing _

_ So bad I’m gonna scream _

_ I can’t choose, so confused _

_ What’s it all mean? _

_ I want my own dream _

_ So bad I’m gonna scream _

[He falls onto his knees]  _ I don’t know where to go _

_ What’s the right thing? _

_ I want my own thing _

_ I want my own thing _

_ I can’t choose, so confused _

_ What’s it all mean? _

_ I want my own team _

_ So bad I’m gonna scream _

He ends by screaming as loud as he can, fists clenched on either side of him and face aimed towards the ceiling. It lasts a few seconds, but it feels so … freeing. Ricky never knew how good it felt to just scream like there was no damn in the world. Eventually, he opens his eyes back into the real world, finding himself out of breath and breaking out in a sweat he wasn’t expecting especially in February weather in Utah.

Ricky carefully lies himself down on the school tile, starfish-style, and starts chuckling to himself. He then thinks out loud, “I don’t think that solved anything, Nini. But, man, did that feel good.”

He revels in the returning silence until it’s interrupted by sneakers squeaking against the floor and sounding closer with each step. Eventually, the source makes himself known after practically checking his shoulder on the jamb because of the running momentum: Nathan.

Ricky sits himself up to look at the doorway and brings one knee up to rest the same-side arm on it, “Nathan?”

Nathan stops from writhing from the pain in his shoulder momentarily to walk towards the older boy, “Ricky! Are you okay? I heard a scream.”

“How did you know it was me?”

“I didn’t think it was you. Well, the voice of the scream did seem familiar, but I just heard screaming and came as fast as I could. So, are you okay? Why are you on the floor?”

“Just a lot going on in my head right now.”

“Oh, okay,” Nathan says as he proceeds to sit down in front of Ricky.

Ricky adjusts his posture before going on, “So, how was your meeting?”

He responds as he unravels his backpack from his body, “Good. It was open to any students who just wanted to know more about college, plus it helped that I had a counseling appointment as well once school got off earlier.”

“Help with what?”

“I’ve been trying to decide on when to graduate. I have enough credits to graduate after this semester, but it all feels too fast and I want to spend more time with you and Nini. Then again, I was thinking of just going straight to community college first so I wouldn’t be too much of a financial burden to Aunties; so it’s not like I would be far. But then, if I want to get into a university or just have more credits covered, I can just graduate from East High this fall. I don’t know; I still need to figure out the kinks and definitely talk to the Aunties and -- Why are you smiling?”

Ricky’s eyes widen at Nathan’s self-interruption, “Hmm?”

“You were looking at me and smiling.”

“Sorry?”

“Are you sure you’re okay? Am I interrupting something?”

“No. No, you weren’t. I was uh … I just needed a place to think.”

“‘The stage could be a wonderful partner in the process of self-discovery;’ or at least I think that would be something Nini would say. I will say, as I was rushing in, you seemed very comfortable for a second.”

“I --” he pauses when the realization hits. “I was.”

“Can I ask what you were doing in here?”

“Just singing.”

“Well, your ‘just singing’ seemed very passionate by how loud it was.” Suddenly, Nathan’s phone chimes as a message comes through. He pulls it from his pocket and says without breaking eye contact with it, “Sorry. Nini’s just texted me, asking if I’m done with my seminar. And to meet her in the dressing room when I can.”

Ricky nods, “Don’t want to keep her waiting, then.” The two of them stand from the floor and Ricky dashes over to his backpack. As he positions it on his body and turns back to Nathan, he sees the other boy struggling. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing major; just my shoulder hurts a little from bumping into the doorway,” he says as he strains in getting the pack-loop over his left shoulder.

“Do you need help?” as he approaches him.

“No, I think I got a handle on -- Ahh,” Nathan attempts to complete the task but the contact of the loop on his shoulder joint proved too much; luckily, Ricky was close enough to Nathan to catch the loop before the bag completely fell off of Nathan. Ricky proceeds to raise the loop over Nathan’s arm, placing it closer to the neck than on the actual shoulder. Nathan responds simply with a “Thank you.”

‘Don’t mention it. You probably might need to ice that shoulder when you get home, though.”

“Smart move.”

Despite both backpacks on their person, Ricky keeps his hands connected to Nathan’s upper arms; and the two just stare at each other fondly.

Nathan breaks the silence, “Hey, I probably should have said this earlier; but I’m sorry about last week. I overstepped and I probably made you mad.”

Ricky carefully tightens his grip on the younger boy’s left arm, “I accept your apology, Nathan. You apologized while it was happening, but I now officially accept your apology. But I should let you know: I’m not mad or was I ever; I’m just confused.”

“Same boat, man,” which gets both of them to chuckle. Once recomposing themselves, Nathan continues, “But, if this counts for anything: what a lifetime of dancing has taught me is to trust one’s instincts; not always getting so caught up in the details but true release comes from having the courage to believe in your own instincts. I’m still working on that lesson myself; but courage, I’d say, is a quality you don’t seem to lack.”

“Really?”

“Really. I mean, you were courageous enough to dive head-first into something you knew close to nothing about so you can prove your love to Nini; you were courageous in opening up to me, relatively a stranger to you, about something as vulnerable as your parents’ divorce; and now you are using that courage to take the opportunity to find yourself and what you like, I hope.”

“I hope so too. It’s kinda hard figuring out if I’m doing it while I’m doing it, I guess.”

“Well, these things take time, but the results are bound to be great.”

“Yeah.”

The conversation is interrupted again by a longer chime from Nathan’s phone. Nathan raises it so both of them can see the caller, finding it to be Nini. Nathan presses the ‘Accept’ button, then ‘Speaker’: “Hey, Ate.”

Nini asks, “Hi. Are you done with your meeting? You didn’t text me back and I saw some people heading towards the exit already. Where are you?”

“Sorry. I ran into Ricky at the Bomb Shelter.”

“He didn’t run into me per sé, but he did run into the doorway,” Ricky laughs at his joke and at Nathan as the other boy gasps at the betrayal.

Nini comes back in, “Oh my gosh. Is he okay?”

Nathan answers, “I’m fine. A little sore, but I’ll ice it when we get home.”

“Okay. Well, I’m at the front with Kourtney, Gina, and Ashlyn right now. We’re waiting for you two and for EJ to pick up Gina and Ashlyn; but once they’re gone, do you two want to go out for dinner?”

Nathan looks over at Ricky, “Are you able to be out?”

Ricky responds, “Yeah. Just need to text my dad, but I have my wallet and everything. Plus, I skated to school, so I’m not leaving a car.”

Nathan returns his attention to the phone, “Ricky and I are good to go. We’ll meet up at the front doors.”

Nini signs off, “Alright. See you soon.”

“Love you.”

“Love you too.” 

Nathan hangs up the phone and returns it to his pocket; then brings his attention back to Ricky, “What were we talking about before?”

Ricky looks up in thought before, “Trusting one’s instincts and how I was courageous.”

“Oh yeah. Actually, that was pretty much the end of that conversation.”

“Oh, okay.”

“So, shall we get going?”

“Yes, we shall.”

Nathan looks down for a moment, then comments, “Uh, Ricky? Are you going to keep your hand on my shoulder like this while we walk?”

Ricky looks in the direction of Nathan’s eyes to find his right hand still gripping Nathan’s left arm. “Oh, sorry,” he says as he returns the arm closer to him.

“No need to apologize. Just wanted to bring it to your attention. Otherwise, we probably would have walked sideways.” Nathan snickers at the comment, but all Ricky does is smile at him. “Anyways, we should actually go.”

Ricky bows and sways his arms in the direction of the doorway, “Then lead the way.”

Nathan uses his right hand to playfully push Ricky’s left arm, “Why should I lead? You’ve been here longer.”

Both laugh as they walk, and they continue to laugh as they go on, “At least you know where the entrance to the school is, right?”

“Yeah, but it’s common courtesy for the one who has been in the place longer to be the guide.”

“Is that really common, though, Nathan?”

“Oh my gosh, Ricky. Just move.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you peep those HSM3 references beyond just using Scream, even though I honestly do not remember watching the movie in full succession but rather just in clips. And for those seniors out there trying to figure out their lives beyond high school, I wish you the best of luck and encourage you to scream if you feel the need because that is a valid need.


	5. Nini

It was supposed to be just Ricky, Nini, Nathan, and Kourtney at dinner tonight. But EJ felt like coming along instead of sticking to picking up Ashlyn and Gina; because of that, Ashlyn and Gina thought it made sense to tag along; Ashlyn somehow got Big Red to come because he was on his way; and, with the additional company, Nini thought it natural to invite Carlos and Seb as well. So, a small table of four became a party of ten at YellowFinn Sushi and Grill; what was even more astounding about the situation was that they got the table so easily despite being walk-ins during dinner rush on a Friday night.

The table was situated where it fit four people on each of the long sides for a total of two long sides as well as two smaller and opposing ends that could fit only one person each. Once the group got the table, everyone was quickly scrambling for the long sides in buddy systems: Ashlyn & Big Red, Carlos & Seb, Nini & Kourtney, even Gina & EJ. Ricky and Nathan were so caught up in saying their thanks to the host that they didn’t notice the urgency until it was too late. Realizing their situation, Nathan showed a thin smile to Ricky before taking a seat at one of the ends; Ricky mirrored the thin smile on his face when Nathan was looking at him, but unintentionally put on his puppy-eye expression once he turned away and tried his best to hide it as he was moving to the other end.

The thing is, Nini witnessed the whole thing, the thin smile and on. She doesn’t mention anything about it [yet], but she keeps it in mind.

So, from one end and going clockwise, the sitting arrangement goes as follows: Ricky, Big Red, Ashlyn, EJ, Gina, Nathan, Nini, Kourtney, Seb, and Carlos. From the moment everyone sits down, the environment is electric: people talking about what to order, their thoughts on the musical so far, grievances about their past midterm weeks, etc. Something to point out, though, is that only the long-side people are engaging in such conversations and making up all of the volume coming off of their table. Meanwhile, Nathan tries to engage in the conversation Nini is having with Kourtney, but to no avail so he instead silently looks through the menu; Ricky, on the other hand, is silent because he’s staring across the table at Nathan as subtly as he can with the menu in his hand. The conversations momentarily stop when the waiter comes for their orders, but the same dynamics eventually resume once the waiter leaves.

Even with the conversation she’s having with Kourtney, Nini still notices the tension between the two out of the corner of her eye.

After a couple of minutes, Gina starts to talk to Nathan about their favorite dancers based in LA, so he’s engaged; on the opposite side, Big Red tries engaging in a conversation with Ricky, and while he is responsive most of the time, Ricky can’t help but keep looking at Nathan. However, he isn’t particularly subtle about the switching looks, unlike Nathan with his occasional side-glances towards Ricky when Gina isn’t looking.

All of this, Nini notices. 

And once figuring out that Nini isn’t fully paying attention to their conversation and finds herself curious as to why, even Kourtney notices. She leans closer to Nini, “Uh, tell me if I’m wrong, but what is happening between Ricky and your cousin?”

Before Nini can respond, she’s drowned out by the incoming food orders followed by her surrounding peers’ excitement over said food. Nevertheless, she answers in a hushed tone, “I don’t know, but I’m about to find out.”

“What do you mean?”

As if on cue, Nathan stands from his seat as he tells Nini, “I’ll be right back. Just gonna wash my hands.”

A little too suddenly, Nini rises from her own chair, “I’ll come with you.”

“Okay,” he quickly shuffles out of her way so he can walk ahead.

Not moving too far behind him, Nini turns her attention back to Kourtney, who flashes a thumbs-up underneath the table so Ricky doesn’t notice it while everyone else focuses on their food.

Once the cousins get into the hallway leading to the restrooms, out of the line of sight from the table, Nini grabs at Nathan’s right wrist. Once he notices the pressure on his arm and turns towards her, Nini directly says, “Spill.”

Nathan responds, “Excuse me, Ate?”

“What happened between you and Ricky at the school earlier before we came here?”

“‘Between me and Ricky?’ Nothing happened between us tonight.”

Unconvinced, she sits her weight all in one leg and crosses her arms. With one eyebrow raised, she jabs, “Really?”

“Do you really want me to spill now? We’re about to have dinner; and what if us taking long looks suspicious to the group?”

“I don’t care. I just want to know.”

“Ugh, fine.” After a deep breath, Nathan recollects about the earlier events: “I was on my way to the main entrance of the school when I heard a faint scream. I ran towards it, come to find out it was from the Bomb Shelter. I was running too quickly because I accidentally hit my shoulder on the door jamb to the room; and as I was tending to my shoulder for a little bit, I saw Ricky lying down on the floor before looking up at me.”

“Okay. Go on.”

“He asked if I was okay, I said ‘yes’. I sat down where he was on the floor; and we just talked about my meeting, how he was using the Bomb Shelter as a place to think and was even singing by himself in there, and he helped me a bit with my backpack after I was straining a bit with my shoulder.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine, really. I’ll wait to ice it at home. It’s not like it’s dislocated or anything.”

“Okay. Well, is that it?”

“I tried apologizing again for what happened last week, but he said he was fine but just confused after that situation. And before we could go any further, you called about dinner.” With his explanation done, Nathan tilts his head to the side and begins to question, “Why are you asking me about Ricky?”

“Because he hasn’t stopped looking at you ever since we got here.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. He had this sad smile on his face once you two saw the only available seats were at the ends; and once we sat down, I kept on noticing how you two kept looking at each other, though he’s not as subtle with it as you are.”

“Really?! Do you think anyone else noticed?”

“Kourtney noticed it some time after we ordered and told me about it, but she doesn’t spill secrets.”

“There’s not much of a secret to tell, though.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“What do you mean?”

“What are your feelings about Ricky? Any feelings, just off the cuff.”

Nathan mirrors his cousin by shifting most of his weight to one leg, thus that side’s hip pops out a bit. He answers, looking up as if his thoughts were visualized up above, “Hmm. Well, he’s obviously really nice. Plays guitar and writes his own songs, those are cool.”

“Mhmm.”

“Gives really good hugs. And he does this thing when he’s sad or feeling some type of way where he wraps his arms around his body as if he’s giving himself a hug; the situations when he’s doing it are usually sad, but I think it’s kinda endearing and cute.”

“Hmm, never really thought about that.”

“Right? I think that goes to show how Physical Touch is one of his love languages; you remember us talking about those?” Nini simply nods as Nathan continues, “Speaking of the love languages, he listens to the ‘psychological concepts’ I make up and tries his best to understand them; he’s just a good listener in general. Also, a great sense of humor. And his laugh; just makes you melt.”

“Yeah,” Nini nodding again but accompanying it with a goofy smile she’s trying so hard to contain.

Nathan proceeds to lean back to where his back is against the wall and starts fidgeting with his fingers, “He makes me feel listened to, and he doesn’t seem judgy. And when he smiles, it’s almost radiant. And his hair; sometimes I imagine myself just putting my hair through his curls and --- Oh.” Upon realizing how deep he had just gone, he re-focuses his attention on Nini, who couldn’t seem to hold her smile anymore.

“Nathan?”

“Oh my God.”

“Do you have feelings for Ricky?” She almost squeals that sentence.

Nathan closes his eyes and quickly turns his head to the side, away from Nini’s eyes looking into his soul. However, after a few seconds, he opens his eyes and relaxes his face into a small smile. He breathes, “Yeah. I guess I … do,” that last part accentuated by him losing that smile and looking back at his cousin with wide eyes.

Realizing the quick shifts in his behavior, Nini furrows her eyebrows, “Are you okay?”

Without hesitation but still treading carefully, he responds, “Is this okay? That I have feelings for Ricky? You two did just break up.”

Nini softens her facial expression and walks closer to Nathan in order to grab at his hands, “Ricky and I have known each other forever. I’ll always love him, but we really work better together as friends. So, if you want to go for it, Nathan, then you have my blessing.”

His face lights up once again, but the light fades just as quickly. Before Nini can call this change out, Nathan backs away and slips out of her grip. “I can’t.”

“What do you mean you can’t? You described him in these amazing ways like ten seconds ago. And if this is about you thinking that you’ll be sparing my feelings if you don’t pursue him, then I’ll say again --”

“It’s not that, Ate.”

“Then, what is it? What’s stopping you?”

“He’s not going to like me that way. Sure, he slipped up once, but it was a vulnerable moment and it’s not like he’s gonna do it again yet on purpose. I don’t think he has feelings for me in that way.”

Nini so desperately wanted to interrupt him by telling him about her earlier conversation with Ricky on how he ‘started having feelings for Nathan’. She knows that Ricky is still figuring out said feelings on his own and she doesn’t want to out Ricky in that regard so prematurely, so Nini lets Nathan continue.

“Besides, I don’t have much to give him; I can’t give him what he needs.”

“What are you talking --”

“Ate Nini, as much as I enjoy talking to you, I’m actually really hungry. Can we talk about this some other time?” Rather than try to argue further, Nini silently nods before Nathan thanks her and moves on to the Men’s restroom. 

A few seconds pass where she’s just standing there, but eventually moves to the Women’s restrooms. Upon entering, Nini has the sudden urge to pee. So, she sits down on the toilet, does her business, washes her hands, and exits the room. There, she assumed that Nathan was already back at the table either because boys somehow pee faster than girls or because he actually stook with just washing his hands. She moves on from this momentary pause in thought, but then stops again once Ricky walks right up to her in the hallway.

She smiles, “Hey, Ricky. How’s your food so far?”

He responds, “Oh. Haven’t touched it yet. I also need to wash my hands but I remembered that the restrooms only fit one person, so I was just waiting for Nathan to come back.”

“Oh, okay.” Ricky isn’t making a move towards the restroom, but rather still standing where he is. Nini catches on, “So, what did you want to talk about?”

Noticing himself how he didn’t move from the situation, he awkwardly rubs the back of his neck as he responds, “Oh, I didn’t mean to stop you here. But since we are here, I just wanted to let you know that I tried your suggestion.”

“What suggestion?”

“I sang what I was feeling.”

Nini immediately perks up, “Really?! What did you sing?”

Ricky chuckles, “‘Scream’ from High School Musical 3.”

Nini’s eyes widen but she quickly goes back into chuckling, “Oh my gosh, how perfect.”

“I know, right?”

“Ohhh, so that’s why Nathan heard you screaming.”

“Wow, you guys work fast. That was literally thirty minutes ago! How do you know about that?”

“I forced it out of him on our way to the restrooms.”

“Have I ever mentioned how scary you can get?”

“Thank you.”

A momentary pause comes over them, then Ricky wraps his arms around himself before he re-engages, “Did he … say anything about me?”

Nini quickly glances at the body language and bites down on the inside of her lower lip to keep her from laughing; but immediately looks back to Ricky’s face to tell him, “Sorry. Salazar-Roberts confidentiality.”

“You’re terrible, Nina.”

“And you need to step it up if you want a chance, Richard,” she says finally before starting to walk back to the table, smirk on her face with an idea on her mind.

Ricky mouths to himself ‘Step it up’ with confusion written all over his face; but as he turns to look for an answer, Nini is already gone. He shakes his head to himself, then proceeds to the restroom.

Once Nini reaches back to the table, she passes her seat in order to grab Ricky’s plate; everyone at the table notices as she takes Ricky’s plate to her spot and grabs her own plate to replace where Ricky was sitting.

Nini then calls out, “Carlos, Seb, do you two mind moving one seat down so Kourtney can sit here?”

Carlos and Seb hesitantly say, “Sure, okay.”

Nini turns her attention, “EJ, Big Red, can you two move down too so Gina and Ashlyn can move up here as well?”

EJ and Big Red respond, “Why?”

“Do you two want to hear about dresses?” The two boys thin their lips, shake their heads, and hold up their hands in surrender before taking their plates down the table; despite the looks of confusion Nini’s receiving, no one necessarily argues with her and the conversations continue as normal. Luckily, Nathan wasn’t paying attention to the whole ordeal as he was so enthralled by the flavors of his bibimbap.

Seconds pass, and Ricky walks to the table to find the new orientation; he stops in his tracks and squints his eyes in confusion. The girls are talking about the musical, Carlos & Seb are in their own little world with each other, and even EJ & Big Red were chatting about a new video game that just came out. Nathan, noticing Ricky at the corner of his eye, looks around and is just as surprised as the other boy at the new sitting arrangement; Nathan looks back and shrugs his shoulders while looking at Ricky, so Ricky just shrugs his own shoulders and sits down to Nathan’s left.

As the night rolls on, the conversations keep going. More importantly, Nathan and Ricky have been talking and laughing throughout most of the time out. Even cooler, Nathan is actually interacting with others in the group: he talks about dance with Carlos and Seb, the conditioning and commitment EJ delves into for both musical theater and water polo, and the types of video games and even hidden talents Big Red and him have; and he even interacts across the table with the girls, leading to whole-group discussions. 

Throughout all of this, Ricky, Nini, and Nathan have this unintentional and unspoken system between each other where they all keep taking glances at each other, but neither of the glarees or the others of the group notice. Whenever Nathan looks at Ricky when he’s not looking and vice versa, their smiles are soft yet radiant; whenever Ricky or Nathan sneaks a peek at Nini when she doesn’t see, their faces are full of sneaking suspicion; whenever Nini looks at Ricky and Nathan laughing and enjoying each other’s closer presence, her face reads full of content and hope.


	6. Nathan

The group ends up getting some appetizers to share after finishing their main dishes; and even they stay at the restaurant until almost closing time. The atmosphere within that table was constantly switching between individual conversations and whole-group conversations throughout the night; and everyone had something to say whether it was about the musical, debating the best and worst Disney movies, the food itself, local hangout spots, etc. It must be noted, or at least it was noted in Nini’s mind, that Ricky and Nathan were laughing and smiling with or at each other the whole time there. 

8:50 PM, YellowFinn is empty except for the group and the employees. This is when things start to get … interesting.

A teenaged waiter, one that did not serve the group at the time they got there, approached their special long table in the corner of the restaurant; walking alongside him is an older gentleman that’s bringing boxes for their leftovers. Everyone quiets down slightly when they notice them coming, and the teen waiter says, “Sorry, everyone. But we’re about to close.” A chorus of ‘sorry’s’ from the group happens, followed by promises to leave the table soon.

EJ directs his attention to the waiter with a smile, “Don’t worry, Marcus. We’ll get out of your hair soon.”

“No worries, EJ. See you on Monday.” Before he turns to leave, Marcus notices someone sitting next to EJ and points at the person, “Since when do you hang out with this nerd?”

Shocked faces occur throughout the table as they look to see where he’s pointing, to find the subject to be Big Red. EJ, just as confused, verbalizes, “Big Red here is my friend from musical theater, plus he’s my cousin’s boyfriend. So, he’s cool.”

“I wouldn’t go that far to say ‘cool’,” Marcus chuckles to himself, but no one is laughing with him; even the older waiter is raising an eyebrow at him. He continues anyways, “Come on, guys. You don’t seriously think that, do you, EJ?” EJ and Big Red, along with the rest of the group, silently gape at him at the forwardness and borderline bullying.

In between the standing Marcus and the sitting EJ & Big Red comes Nathan, who stands from his seat to get face-to-face [or more accurately face-to-neck, but nonetheless] with the guy. Nathan goes on to say, “While we appreciate the service your staff has given us, I would like to ask you to please leave our friend alone. We will leave as soon as we can.”

Marcus approaches Nathan, walking with an arrogant aura to him, “Hey, aren’t you the guy who almost punched me almost two weeks ago?”

Nathan defends himself, “That was because you decided to knock down Big Red here’s lunch tray in the middle of the cafeteria.”

The older waiter jumps in, “Is that true, Marcus?”

The boy ignores the man to continue, up in Nathan’s personal space, “Well, why don’t you try to swing at me this time, see if what happens.”

Just as EJ stands from his seat and attempts to call Marcus out, Ricky beats him when he stands from his own seat and practically yells, “Hey! Why don’t you pick on someone your own size for once, huh?” Everyone turns their heads to Ricky, and everyone but Marcus is holding their breath as they witness the tension.

Marcus only needs to take a few steps to get to Ricky, and he takes them as well as reaches for the collar of Ricky’s shirt. The bully growls, “‘My own size?’ Okay, what are you going to do now?” 

Gasps fill the air and the older waiter tries to call out for Marcus to stop. The teen waiter ignores him once again, and releases the grip of his right hand from the shirt collar in an attempt to punch Ricky’s face. However, the front of the fist is caught by the intercepting hand of Nathan, and everyone’s attention is glued onto him. Without missing a beat, Nathan holds his right hand onto the fist while attaching his left hand to the wrist, spins in a clockwise direction while still gripping the arm, and ends the spin with sweeping Marcus’s leg by the back of his calf with his heel; the pull on the arm, the momentum, & the sweep are enough to bring Marcus’s back to the floor and even into a backwards roll. As Marcus was falling, he was forced to release his grip on Ricky’s shirt; Ricky does stumble backwards for a few steps, but otherwise stays standing.

Marcus completes his roll onto his knees, and Nathan is already set up in a fighting stance without giving the other boy much time to breathe. Nathan aims and attempts to throw a right side kick at the older boy’s nose, but Nini verbally intercepts from across the table with a “Nathan, no!” She figuratively catches him in time, his foot a mere two inches away from the bully. He returns his foot back to the floor yet keeps his serious face locked onto Marcus as Nini says, “He’s not worth it.”

While the older waiter walks from Nini’s side of the table to pick Marcus from the floor and scold him, Nathan turns to Ricky and asks, “Are you okay?”

Flustered, not only from the intense situation but also the way the boy in front of him handled said situation, Ricky stammers, “Oh, uh yeah, I’m good.”

The older waiter orders the younger waiter back to the kitchen, then turns his attention back to the group to say, “I am so sorry for all the troubles. I was not aware of what he has caused all of you. The meal is on the house.”

Nini quickly walks around Nathan and Ricky to tell the gentleman, “Oh no, that won’t be necessary; we’re ready to pay anyways. All I ask is that you or Marcus’s family don’t press charges against my cousin.”

“Don’t worry about that. None of the restaurant property was damaged; and I personally know Marcus’s parents, so they will hear from me about the trouble he has done.”

“Thank you, mister. The food was amazing, as always.” The rest of the group follows suit in thanking him as he retrieves their payments for the meal. As they waited for their cards back and leading up to them exiting the place, everyone was looking at Nathan, shocked but silent. Once they did exit, that’s when the floodgates were opened:

Nathan asks, once outside, “Big Red, are you okay?”

Big Red responds, “‘Okay?’ Am I okay? Dude, I’m awesome! You’re awesome! Thank you!”

Carlos, an impressed smile on his face, goes, “I can’t believe you took down Marcus Bennett so quickly.”

Seb follows up, “Yeah. Isn’t he, like, almost 6 feet?”

Ricky answers, “No, he’s my height.”

Kourtney comments, “Either way, that boy definitely deserved it.”

Gina and Ashlyn add on, “Amen.”

Nathan smiles at all the compliments, but then turns his attention to EJ, “Are you mad that I did that? He’s your teammate, isn’t he?”

EJ waves him off, “Nah, he’s always been kind of a jerk. Thanks for knocking him down a few pegs, but I can take it from here.” Nathan silently nods.

Nini refocuses, “Well, with that out of the way, does everyone have their food? Yes?” Once everyone confirms, she sends the group off, “Okay, guys. This was fun. See you all next week!” The group all make their individual goodbyes, then go their separate ways: Ashlyn & Gina go with EJ; Kourtney drives Carlos & Seb; and Nini takes Nathan & Ricky.

***

“I am so sorry, but that bibimbap travels fast!” Nathan complains as he pushes the now unlocked door to the Salazar-Roberts home so he can be the first to access the bathroom upstairs. 

As Ricky closes the door behind him, Nini walks to the entrance table to set down her keys; instantly, Carol emerges from the kitchen into the living room. She starts a conversation, “Hey, kids. How was dinner?”

Nini responds while walking back to stand next to Ricky and face her mom, “It was fun.”

Ricky adds, “Nathan almost kicked someone in the face.”

While Carol makes a shocked expression, Nini scrunches her face up and chimes in, “Out of all the ways you could have told her, you say it like that?”

Ricky whispers, “Sorry.”

Carol refocuses, “Oh my gosh, what happened?!”

Nini answers, “One of the waiters who goes to high school with us was bullying Big Red. Nathan and Ricky stood up to him; and when he grabbed Ricky’s shirt, Nathan took him down and almost knocked him out.”

Carol’s face doesn’t die down, so Ricky tries to help, “Don’t worry, though. Nini stopped Nathan before he connected; and she somehow talked the older waiter that was helping us into not pressing charges.”

Nini finalizes the story, “Well, I asked him not to, but he ensured us he wouldn’t since none of the property at YellowFinn was broken and that he would talk to Marcus’s parents since he knows them.”

Carol takes a sigh of relief, “Okay. As long as everyone is safe, that’s good. Where is Nathan, by the way?”

“Bathroom. Where’s Mom?”

“She’s in the shower. Your mother had a tiring day at work today, so she’s just going to go to sleep as soon as she can. I’m just going to hang out with her when she’s done, so I’ll leave you kids to it. Don’t forget to arm the alarm later.”

“Will do, Mom. Good night.”

Ricky calls out “Good night, Carol!” as she moves up the stairs. 

Nini turns back to the boy, “Are you sure that you’re fine with me not dropping you off at home?”

Ricky answers, “Yeah. I have my board; and you know me, I don’t live that far. Plus, I need the fresh air anyways. Just waiting for Nathan to be done so I can say bye, then I’ll leave.”

“Okay. Well, do you at least want water before you leave?”

“No, I’m good. But there is something I want to say first, though.”

Nini raises an eyebrow, “What?”

“I know what you were doing tonight.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Nini feigning innocence but being obvious with it by her smile.

“You purposefully switched our places at the table so that Nathan & I would be closer and spend time together. And tried to hide it by making a boys’ side and a girls’ side.”

“Not true. I really did need to talk to the girls about the dresses and how we were going to move in them. France did not have very movable dresses back then, but Miss Jenn insisted on keeping to the source.” She’s trying to be convincing, but the own goofy smile plastered on her face says otherwise. She continues, “But let’s say for a minute that I did do that on purpose. It worked out in the end: you two seemed happy together the whole night.”

Ricky has his trying-to-be-mad-but-can’t-help-but-smile face on, trying to deny what Nini is saying. But ultimately, he gives in and says, “Yeah, it was fun.”

“What did you guys talk about?”

“Everything. Favorite foods, recent video games we’ve been playing, just a lot of cool stuff; he even talked about how he was in martial arts for almost ten years.”

“And lucky for you to see those moves first-hand.” The two of them chuckle at that.

“Yeah. He’s just … so amazing.”

“In what ways, if I may ask?” Nini pokes.

He chuckles again, then takes a pause to think before continuing, “I mean, he’s really nice and obviously a badass. Knows karate and dance, so that’s cool.”

“Mhmm.”

“Gives really good hugs. And he does this thing when he’s nervous where he plays around with his fingers; he doesn’t like it, but I think it’s kinda cute.”

“Hmm, never really noticed that,” she lies but keeps the facade going.

Ricky wraps his arms around himself and shrugs his shoulders as he continues, “He gets along with everyone in our group; and is super loyal, despite just meeting us two weeks ago. Not to mention super smart and knows how to listen, you know?”

“I’ve been living with him, so I would know. But yeah,” she nods but accompanies with a goofy smile she’s struggling to contain.

“He can be forward sometimes, but he’s immediately apologetic and seems in-tune with himself. Plus, that smile and his laugh? They’re like the biggest things I’ve ever seen. Also, ---” his train of thought is interrupted by the realization of how long and what he’s talked about as well as the smile Nini is flashing at him. He breathes, “Oh.”

“Ricky?”

“Nini?”

“What are you trying to say?”

Ricky brings his line of sight to the space above Nini’s head, taking a break from the overload in his mind. He uses the time to take a deep breath and another pause to reflect; then looks back at his ex-girlfriend to tell her, “I think I have feelings for him.”

“What?”

Ricky smiles, “Don’t make me repeat it. He might hear.”

Nini smiles back, “I just want to be sure. And I just want to make sure you’re sure.”

Ricky blinks, then says, “I think I have feelings for Nathan.”

Nini is about to squeal and jump up & down, but she’s interrupted by a voice behind her, “Really?” Her and Ricky look up at the staircase, Nathan descending down it hurriedly.

Once he’s down on their floor and walking towards them, Ricky steps towards him and Nini side-steps out of Ricky’s way. Ricky exhales into a smile as he looks at Nathan, “Yes.”

They’re now standing two feet away from each other, and Nathan furrows his eyebrows & tilts his head to the side as he says, “Why?” in a more ‘why would you?’ type of tone over a more sensually curious type of way.

Ricky squints his own eyes, thinking the question as a surprising one. Before he can respond, though, Nini snakes closer to their sides, “He thinks you’re a badass, that your dancing is cool and the way you play with your fingers when you’re nervous is cute, and that your brain and laugh are the biggest things he’s ever seen.”

Ricky’s eyes widen at the suddenness and honesty, but keeps his eyes on Nathan; Nathan, on the other hand, also keeps his eyes on Ricky but additionally blushes.

Nini then turns to Ricky, “As for you: he thinks the fact that you write songs is cool, that the way you hug yourself when you’re sad or nervous is super endearing, and your sense of humor & smile are great too although I can’t really understand that first one.”

Nathan chuckles while Ricky makes a dry “Ha, ha”; the two boys still keep looking at each other, smiles matching in size.

“Plus, sometimes he imagines putting his fingers through your curly hair.”

Nathan breaks the sustained eye contact to pout, “Ate!”

While Nini laughs, Ricky keeps looking at the other boy, “Really?” This was more in a sensual tone over a ‘why would you?’ type of tone. Nathan brings his attention back to Ricky, then smiles nervously but goofily.

Nini continues, “And both of you think the other is super nice and gives amazing hugs, plus you two see each other as great listeners.”

The two of them synchronously say, “Yeah, he is.”

“Now, with that out of the way, I’ll give you two privacy to talk things out. I’m going to my room to get out of these clothes. Good night, Ricky; text me when you get home safe, okay?”

Ricky responds with a head nod and “Got it.”

Nini places a light touch of her hand on Nathan’s forearm, then silently moves up the stairs to her room.

Once they hear her room door close, Nathan restarts the conversation, “Is it okay if we move this to the kitchen? I still need to ice my shoulder.”

Ricky responds, “Oh, sure.” He follows the younger boy to the kitchen, then sits down on one of the island counter stools as Nathan picks up an ice pack from the freezer. 

Nathan rests the pack on the top of his shoulder, sitting on the stool next to Ricky. “Okay, undivided attention.”

“I know this is probably under Salazar-Roberts confidentiality, but how did she know all of that?”

“I kinda spilled my guts to her in front of the restrooms before I started eating back at the restaurant.”

“Wow, you two really do work fast.”

Behind a giggle, Nathan goes, “How did she find out about what you think about me?”

“I was spilling my guts to her too, only it was just a minute ago while you were in the bathroom. She has the tendency to know about our guts easily, doesn’t she?”

“Yeah, she’s very convincing about people opening up to her. I wonder if she should be the psychologist of the family.” The two of them laugh.

“Nah. She was born to be a performer.”

“True.” A pause descends upon them again. Moments pass, them just looking at each other warmly. Finally, Nathan goes, “Ricky?”

“Yes, Nathan?”

“Are you sure about this? About having feelings for me?”

“Why wouldn’t I be sure?”

“Well, just last week, we were talking about how we wanted to figure ourselves out with what we wanted out of life and everything.”

Ricky reaches for Nathan’s free hand, “We don’t need to be by ourselves to figure out ourselves. Besides, if it weren’t for me trying to figure out my feelings for you, I wouldn’t have ever made the decision to stay in musical theater.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Nini suggested that, whenever I lose the words to describe how I’m feeling, I just sing anything that resembles what I am feeling or what I need to feel. Before dinner, while we were still at the school, I sang a part of ‘Scream’ from the third High School Musical when I was in the Bomb Shelter.”

“That’s why you were screaming in there. That makes so much sense.”

Ricky smirks, “Yeah. And once I was done, I felt the lightest I have ever been in my life. It was great to sing with the cast and with Nini last semester, but doing that tonight, for myself … I want to keep that feeling with me forever.”

“That’s amazing to hear, Ricky.”

“Do I see it as my career? I don’t think so. I’m not as naturally talented as Nini to make it go the distance in that way, but I know I want to keep it in my life.”

“That’s like with me and dance.”

“Exactly.” Another pause passes, but it’s shorter when Ricky asks, “What about you?”

An eyebrow raise and head tilt occurs before Nathan questions, “What do you mean?”

“Are you sure about your feelings about me?”

Nathan sets the ice pack onto the counter and leans his upper body forward to Ricky’s direction, “Ate Nini isn’t the only convincing one.”

Ricky leans forward as well, “So?”

“Yes. I am sure about my feelings about you. I want you in my life, Ricky Bowen.”

“That’s amazing to hear from you.” He then reaches for both hands which Nathan easily weaves his into his Ricky’s, but Ricky then slowly drops his gaze. Before Nathan calls out the behavior, Ricky says with eyes aways, “Look, Nathan.” He brings his gaze back to the boy, “I know your cousin can confirm this, but I’m not the best talker. I can’t give you all you might want in that regard, but I just want you to know that I’ll try my best to be my best with you.”

Nathan softens his face into a smile as he answers, “Actually, that’s the best thing I could ever hear.” Ricky chippers up, only for Nathan to say, “Are you familiar with the Five Love Languages?”

Now, Ricky is confused but moves along with it, “Is that another psychology theory?”

“Yes, but straight to the point: everyone has their own ways of showing love and affection, whether it’s to their friends, romantic partners, and even family. So, it would be an honor to figure out and adhere to your love language.”

“Wow, that is the best thing I could ever hear.” The two laugh again, breaking eye contact with each other. Seconds of the sound pass, and the two begin to calm down and breathe together. Then, Ricky goes in a whispery volume, “Nathan?”

Nathan matches the level of the voice, “Yes, Ricky?”

“Can I kiss you?”

“Yes.”

The two boys approach each other’s faces slowly, but eventually close their eyes and collide their lips. They start in a static manner, but soon enough rolling into a slow rhythm. It’s simple, yet somehow still warm and almost electric. They can’t get their bodies closer together without slipping off of their stools, but they evolve into releasing the grips on each other’s hands in order to better grip onto the bodies. They disconnect after what feels like an eternity but was realistically only 30 seconds. They open their eyes to soak in the sight of the boy in front of them, senses overloaded in the best way possible.

Nathan breaks the silence, “Congratulations. You are officially and forever will be known as my first kiss.”

“I feel so honored. Do I get a trophy?”

“Sorry. Not in the boyfriend budget.”

“‘Boyfriend’?”

Nathan tenses up a bit, “Is that not what is happening? I don’t know; this is considered my first relationship, period.”

Ricky goes in for another kiss while Nathan just takes it. Once he detaches, Ricky answers, “Yes. That is what is happening right now, Nathan Salazar. My boyfriend. This is my first relationship with a boy, and I’m happy that it’s with you.”

“Good to hear, Ricky Bowen. My boyfriend.”

“Ugh, I know I helped set this up, but please don’t become one of those couples, I beg you,” a voice from the side chimes, scaring Ricky and Nathan. The two boys look over at the source, finding out it’s Nini in her pajamas.

“Way to ruin a moment, Ate.”

Ricky adds, “And you can’t judge since you and EJ were basically that couple anyways.”

Nini gasps, “Don’t rope EJ into this!”

Ricky and Nathan start laughing out loud; and eventually, Nini joins in. The two boys motion for her to come closer to them, and the three embrace in a hug. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One: Marcus is a random OMC. I did not try to research into EJ's canon water polo friends because I don't remember him or the show mentioning any of their names.  
> Two: This isn't crucial to the story, but just wanted to point out: the way Ricky triggered me in S1E4 when he referred to one of Nini's parents by her FIRST NAME! My Filipino/Asian ass could never!  
> Three: Thank you to those who have stuck by to read this work so far! I hoped you enjoyed reading this as much as I did making it.  
> Four: I know I want to try to continue this new-ish universe overall, but I hope you can be patient because I do have other works I want to work on and/or clean as well. This chapter does seem like an end to a story arc, so I'll leave it as such. Will see you soon for the sequel, though!  
> Five: I hope you all have a Happy Holidays!


End file.
